Category Archives: Competition

This weekend Solis Ortus hosted the JKA GN trials. The Tshwane region entered 180 entries of which Solis Ortus consisted of 110 karatekas of all ages. With a team like that we can only stand proud to announce that most of our athletes medalled and have the opportunity to compete in the JKA GN tournament to receive their colours.

As host, Solis Ortus strives to be on time with the events as scheduled and wrote a new page in their rich history of 40 years. New champions in the making couldn’t hide their overjoyed excitement of the medals and places they have achieved. Parents were ecstatic….and definitely indulged in the joy for their young champions with a treat afterwards. We as instructors, stand proud and wish each athlete only the best in their new karate journey.

For our more frequent and more experienced competitors, well done. Remember to take the hands of our new champions in the making, and help them grow the same love for the sport. Encourage them, praise them and be an ambassador for your club, your region, and your province…..and of course the ultimate, your country.

As the year reaches its end, we are busy preparing for grading the 1st December 2018, and wishing you all a fantastic and successful grading. For those who are preparing for exams, stay focused, breath, drink a lot of water, eat healthy and keep on training.

“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” Robert Collier

Congratulations and good luck to all your endeavours this month….see you all on grading day!

Wow, what an awesome event it was! The day was filled with love and laughter, excitement and pride as our students from as little as 3 years old to much older, took part in the 3rd Annual Coen Memorial Challenge.

As commemoration to our late Sensei Coen, who started this extraordinary karate club 40 years ago, we can just stand in awe and celebrate our incredible history.

The Coen Memorial Challenge is a highlight in Solis Ortus’s calendar, where all our students take part to compete against each other. At this tournament some students compete for the first time.

The day kicked off with our little ones doing an obstacle course and ended on a high note where our black belts concluded the day in outstanding karate.

It was amazing, overwhelming and too adorable to see how much raw talent there is in our club. Many students surprised our Instructors and showed unbelievable talent from normal class work to competitor.

Solis Ortus is extremely proud to have such amazing parents and awesome students. We are enormously proud to be part of such an amazing club full of raw talent and history. We are honoured to be part in the growth, development and character building in each student.

After a successful tournament we wish all our students good luck for the upcoming exams and of course prepare for our grading exam on the 1st December 2018. Stay focused! Work hard, but work smart! Keep on training!

Six Solis Ortus athletes competed in the 2nd Samurai Cup on Saturday 15 September 2018 at the Beaulieu College School Hall, Kyalami. This tournament was hosted and particularly well organized by The Russell Sim Karate Academy and Midrand Martial Arts Academy.

With no exception we stand proud yet again in our young athletes’ performances and achievements this past weekend. Solis Ortus brought home 11 medals in total. Our young athletes achieved double medals in both events; kata and kumite; 4 gold, 5 silver and 2 bronze; and unfortunately 1 student missed out on a double medal.

Eight Solis Ortus karatekas arrived bright and early at the Portuguese Hall in Johannesburg on Saturday morning, ready to ensure their place in the KSA Development team, competing in Durban early October 2018.

From our youngest, 4 years old to our oldest 23 years old, we only expected great results. As always our karatekas surprised us, and we can only stand in admiration how they have grown as athletes, to withstand the pressure they experience by stepping onto the tatami’s and only give their best.

There were two divisions; Development where children of the same belt and age competed against each other; and the Development Opens, where all belts of same ages competed.

Only the first 4 places in the Opens division that qualified will compete in KSA Development in Durban on 6th October 2018. We are proud to announce that 3 of our karatekas achieved their places: Jayden van der Merwe (7 years old), Strauss Vosser (9 years old) and Tiaan Uys (23 years old).

Always remember that winning is about attitude. A winner is a person who goes out today and every day and attempts to be the best athlete and best person he or she can be. Winning is about determination, effort and self-assurance, and to never, ever, ever giving up.

Well done to all our competitors. Solis Ortus is extremely proud of you all and cannot wait to see how you all develop in great sport men and sport women one day. We are especially proud of our 3 athletes who qualified for the KSA Development team.

In total Solis Ortus achieved 9 medals of which 3 are gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze.

We would like to congratulate 5 Solis Ortus (SO) athletes who competed this weekend at the Portuguese Hall, Turffontein. They are PW Pentz, Drew Dupuy, Lolly Constable, Thirq du Preez and Pieter Jordaan. Yet again you accomplished your milestones and arose with 4 medals; 1 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze.

Weigh in took place on the Friday and the competition commenced on Saturday morning. As always we had a formidable SO team who came out tops with hardship, bruises, shiners and other small injuries. Well done everyone, we are proud of our young athletes who are stepping into a fantastic karate journey, full of good memories and phenomenal experience.

The KSA Selection Panel will select athletes to represent South Africa at the Commonwealth Games after the final KSA League this weekend. They stated that it is not necessarily the top 4 ranked athletes that will be selected for the team. It will be used as a guideline together with other factors will be taken into consideration to select the final team.

Good luck to all our SO athletes, we cannot wait to see how many club karatekas will be honoured with the selection to represent South Africa at the Commonwealth Games.

You all have shown good character and the ability to rise above adversity. Keep on doing what you’re doing and you will become the best of best in what you do.

Walking into the arena early Saturday morning was overwhelming yet intimidating out of a competitors’ point of view. Again Solis Ortus was well represented as Table officials, judges and referees on this prestigious event. Solis Ortus sat at the main table and did an excellent job. Thank you Sandy – as always a pleasure working with you…..and having fun on the side line of course, never a dull moment.

African countries such as Mauritius, DRC, Angola, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Madagascar and Reunion came to participate against the cream of South Africa. South Africa was a formidable opponent and arose as the winner of the tournament.

Most of them medalled for the day and brought home 9 medals; 4 gold and 5 bronze. Solis Ortus is extremely proud of each and everyone’s achievement for the day. Even if you have not medalled, just to be there was an honour and a great accomplishment.

“True strength is in the soul and spirit, not in the muscles”. – Unknown

So, congratulations to all of you! You came to accomplish and you did. Sensei Eugene is tremendously proud of you all.

Solis Ortus conquered the Spartan and Lions Challenge at the Portuguese Hall, Turffontein, Johannesburg; the past two weekends.

The Club entered a team of 18 karatekas to compete in the Spartan All Styles event. A total of 9 karatekas competed in their first All Styles event. Solis Ortus was also represented by 2 team Kumite groups who fought like champions. The junior team just missed the gold medal. The cadets came out on top in their group with a deserving gold! The team earned 12 gold, 9 silver, 2 bronze and 8 participation medals = 31 in total (excluding the team events).

Savannah Hauser had tough a few ladies competing against her, but did not stand back and took the punches (and gave a few strong one’s) like a champ! Well-deserved gold in Kata and silver for Kumite.

Tiaan Uys fought like a warrior in the senior male division. Not only did he crush his competitors, he had the whole Solis Ortus club behind him during each fight. First fight in 10 years, Tiaan, well done!!! Your silver medal was well deserved.

The Solis Ortus team walked away proudly and this event is surely one to remember!

New to the coaching team with Sensei Lillian was Savannah Hauser and Darius Peenze who had their first coaching opportunities. Still lots to learn, but enjoying every moment of being with the kids!!

At the Lions Challenge, a variety of competitors entered. Some newbies who competed for the first time, some with more experience and then our frequent competitors. Solis Ortus made history and entered the youngest competitor of the tournament; our very own 4 year old tigress who competed in a division where her competition was much older. She stood her ground and bravely won a gold medal in kata.

Competition in the more elite divisions is getting tougher. Most of our karatekas medalled and out of 13 competitors we achieved 13 medals; 5 gold, 3 silver and 5 bronze medals.

Solis Ortus is overjoyed to see how the youngsters grow and succeed in their karate journey. Solis Ortus stand proud to witness each karateka grow as an athlete and also as an individual.

With the outstanding support from the Solis Ortus parents and our Sensei and coach, we had a very successful Spartan and Lions Challenge.

Solis Ortus came out victoriously with a total of 17 gold, 12 silver and 7 bronze medals; a total of 36 medals out of 26 participants in both tournaments.

Hannalore Constable, Lolly as we know her in class has been selected to be part of the National karate team of University Sports South Africa (USSA).

Lolly was preliminary selected for the National team in October 2017 at the USSA competition held at the Tshwane University of Technology’s (TUT’s) Shoshanguve campus. The final selection took place on 17 February 2018 at TUT’s campus in Pretoria.

The USSA National team participated in the 2018 International University Sports Federation World University Karate Championship, 19 – 22 July in Kobe, Japan.

She competed in the U61 kg’s Female kumite category and was the only South African who made it through to the second round. Winning the first fight 4-1 to Switzerland and losing the second fight to France by only one point, gave her the lifelong experience to excel and focus on her strengths. The standard of karate at the tournament was unbelievably high.

She stated that Japan is a beautiful country and the people are very polite and friendly. She also mentioned that the trip would have not been the same without her fellow team mates. They had loads of fun together and even got lost in Osaka, the second largest city in Japan, for 3 hours.

Solis Ortus congratulate Lolly for her achievement and wishing her all the best of luck for her future karate endeavours. We are extremely proud of her, train hard, stay focussed and believe in yourself.

Croatia is located in Central and Southeast Europe, bordering Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the southeast, Montenegro to the southeast, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest and Slovenia to the northwest. The panoramic and scenic city with beautiful beaches and historic buildings, hosted the WKF Youth camp and Cup in Umag Croatia.

PW Pentz was amongst the young karatekas from countries all over the world to participate in a record-breaking edition of the 11th WKF Youth Training Camp in Umag, the idyllic city that has become the core of grassroots Karate. The massive event started on Monday with the first sessions of the Training Camp, in which the future of Karate has the chance to meet the legends and World champion acting as instructors.

His fate was measured on 7/7/2018, 08h30, U14 kumite division on tatami 5. There were 58 competitors in his division. Solis Ortus fans and parents experience nail biting moments until the results came through.

PW won his first fight against Sweden 7-1; won his second fight against England 7-0; and lost his 3rd fight 2-0 against Italy.

What an achievement, privilege and honour you have experienced. You worked so hard in preparing yourself, and have conquered all your injuries and setbacks and emotional rollercoaster to become our champ.

You have earned your position to represent your family, your country and your dojo at this awesome event!! Solis Ortus salutes you with pride!!

This prestigious event is the National League Championship Event for 2018, primarily to maintain KSA National Ranking, and to assist in selecting the National Team.

In a cold Bloemfontein, at the Tempe Indoor Sports Hall, Solis Ortus arrived with a positive winning spirit to face their rivals and to achieve their place in the National Team. What an honour and privilege to be able to represent your beautiful country on international level.

Competition was extremely tough and all came prepared to qualify. Our competitor’s spirit was with expectation and went in with their all. Solis Ortus did extremely well and received 1 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze and 2 fifth places.

Well done to all our competitors. You train hard and we are extremely proud of you all.

Sensei Eugene, our National coach selected for KSA, worked hard and came home with laryngitis. Thank you sensei Eugene for all your help and dedication to help our karatekas succeed as competitive individuals. We as parents appreciate your effort and dedication.

To complete a very successful weekend, South Africa’s top 4 karatekas (12 years and above) had the honour to train with the National Coaches on Sunday morning, before departing to their destinations. The training camp was of utmost value to our new champs.

Always remember “To stay true to yourself, yet always be open to learn. Work hard, and never give up on your dreams, even when nobody else believes they can come true but you. These are not clichés but real tools you need no matter what you do in life to stay focused on your path.” Phillip Sweet

What type of fighter are you? How will you excel against your opponents?

There are three kinds of fighters:

“The AGGRESSIVE fighter who charges in blindly trying to get the upper hand;

The DEFENSIVE fighter who blocks and evades until his opponent is tired; and then……

The MOST DANGEROUS fighter, the one who waits for his opponent to make a mistake.” Southern Mantis

The President of KSA, Sonny Pillay Hanshi was very excited about the Championship and stated, “I am absolutely delighted at the huge turnout of our karate youth from throughout the Republic, moreover the high standard of karate on display by the participants throughout the weekend certainly augurs well for the future of KSA“.

The success of the just concluded Nationals predicts excitement for the ARNOLD CLASSIC SPORTS FESTIVAL 18-20 MAY 2018 at the Sandton Convention Centre, as the TEAM SELECTION will be done afterwards.

Good luck to all our KSA champs, you are all winners! Be always prepared, stay prepared and excel in your karate journey!

“The difference between winning and losing is most often not quitting.” – Walt Disney

Solis Ortus was a busy dojo this weekend. Five of our karatekas competed at the KSA Junior and Elite Tournament held at the Tongaat Indoor Sport Centre in Kwa-Zulu Natal.

The weather was as cold and wet as in Gauteng. We are proud to have had Sensei Eugene there as Head Coach for our Gauteng Team.

Sensei Eugene flew to Durban on Thursday morning to attend a Coach and Referee briefing session. With pride he is one of four coaches nominated as National Senior coach for the Protea Team, representing South Africa in Zone 5 and other international events.

The competition was tough and of a very high standard. Many who used to medal first or second had to bow down for third and fourth place.

Weigh-in was conducted on Thursday and the Tournament commenced on Friday morning until late afternoon. Both our kumite boys got bronze medals on Friday. On Saturday the other 3 boys participated in their divisions and Solis Ortus received a Gold medal. Unfortunately the other 2 boys fell out and did not medal.

Sensei Eugene is extremely proud of all of you. You have worked so hard, and “A brave man, a real fighter is not measured by how many times he falls, but how many times he stands up.” – Rickson Gracie

Keep on believing in yourselves; never ever quit, stay focussed and be diligent in your karate, and you will reap the results.

Will Durant wrote in his book of philosophy: “Excellence is an art won by training and habituation: we do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but rather have these because we have acted rightly; these virtues are formed in man by doing his actions”. To make it simpler, you develop a talent for the things you repeatedly practice. The same goes for the reverse: problems, failure, and other issues, they can become habits too. Therefore, choose your habits wisely, or you may achieve excellence in something that doesn’t matter to you.

This weekend was a huge success FOR our competitors who competed at the Standard Bank arena to qualify for Nationals in May. On Friday we were 1200 competitors in the Novice divisions and 600 in the Elite divisions on Saturday. What an honour and privilege it is to be part of such a huge organisation.

Our journey to the City of Gold was through heavy rains, streams of water and mist. Our early birds arrived safely in a cold Johannesburg to face our fate at the JKA Gauteng trials. We would like to thank JKA Management and the organisers for a well-planned and successful tournament. There is only one way, JKA! JKA one way!

Solis Ortus confirmed 69 competitors into the JKA Gauteng Trials, who bravely faced every round. You all have prepared for this moment, you worked hard and with determination you have aroused your greatest fears and uncertainty. Well done to you all!

For some it was overwhelming and the first time competing; and for some it was a new battlefield all over again. Like they say, “There is no comfort in the growth zone and no growth in the comfort zone.” Unknown

Divisions were huge and the competition was of high standard. Always remember to never ever give up. Keep on working for what you want to achieve. Stay positive and work harder but smarter. The harder you work the luckier you get.

“Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labour does the body.” Seneca

Always remember you are only defeated when you did not have the guts to put your feet on the tatamis. We solute you because you were all brave enough to show up for the battle. That makes you a WINNER! Winners never give up!

Teddy Roosevelt wisely affirmed: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” (Teddy Roosevelt was a wise man who served as a New York assemblyman, the New York City police commissioner, lieutenant colonel in the Spanish-American War, assistant secretary of the Navy, the governor of New York, and then President William McKinley’s vice president. After McKinley was assassinated in 1901, he became the country’s youngest president at age 43.)

Solis Ortus entered 49 competitors into the Novice division, and 20 competitors in the Junior, Elite and Veteran divisions. Sensei Eugene is extremely proud to announce that all 69 competitors achieved their Gauteng colours and will represent their Province at Nationals in May. Solis Ortus achieved over 75 medals over the 2 days.

Well done Solis Ortus, we as coaches are immensely proud of each and every competitor showing character, sportsmanship and etiquette. It is an honour to be part of the Solis Ortus team. Thank you Sensei Eugene and our Team Managers and coaches for helping our karatekas with such care and pride. Solis Ortus karate club – ROCKS!

Solis Ortus is proud to announce that 78 students are currently preparing for the JKA Gauteng Championships on 23 & 24 March 2018 at the Ellis Park Indoor Events Arena. Most students compete in both events, kata and kumite.
With dedication, hard work, sweat and a lot of repetition, we are persistently enduring our extra training sessions on Fridays. How privileged we are to come together as a huge team, representing our club and region to achieve our Gauteng colours.
58 Solis Ortus students will participate in the Novice sections, White to Red belts and Special Needs events on Friday; and 20 students in the Elite sections Brown, Junior Black and Black belts on Saturday.
Remember: “It’s that preparation that goes into each week. We have a term: ‘Trust your training, trust your teammate, and trust yourself.” Dan Quinn
A HUGE thank you to Sensei Eugene who dedicated his time and sharing his incredible training tips in preparing us for this prestigious tournament.
Remember: “One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.” Arthur Ashe
We are READY Sensei! We are proud to be a Solis Ortus student! We LEARNED from the best. Stay focused, give your all, and remember to enjoy the journey. You worked hard for it.Remember: “Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes.” Gautama B.
Looking forward to see you all at our last hard training session on Friday afternoon.
Oss.

Congratulations to Sensei Eugene who has been appointed as a KSA coach, amongst 12 other coaches, to represent the South African team for international duties at various karate tournaments around the globe during 2018.

This announcement was made on the 2nd day of the KSA Senior Nationals Tournament, 3 March 2018.

We, as Solis Ortus students are immensely proud of you Sensei and wishing you good luck to fulfil your international duties successfully.

Congratulations to all our champions in the making for achieving their Gauteng colours and qualified for KSA in Durban.

Our juniors; GKF Children/Cadets and Junior Champs, competed 24 February and exceled in their quest to be the best karate kid they can be. Solis Ortus has extremely dedicated young karatekas that work very hard to achieve their goals. Sensei is particularly proud of the juniors and wishing them all to never give up and always explore and reach their dreams.

Solis Ortus is proud to announce that our juniors received 1 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze medals; whereas 6 of our karatekas achieved their Gauteng colours and succeeded to participate in the KSA championships’ 23-24 March in Durban. Well done to everyone.

Remember, even if you did not succeeded this year “Karate is not about winning over others. It is about winning over one’s self. Ultimately, the most challenging opponents we face reside from within our hang-ups, our insecurities, our prejudices. Overcome these and you will have truly won. (David Walker)

This weekend, five Solis Ortus karatekas participated in the KSA U21/Seniors/Veterans divisions; kata and kumite.

“Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes.” (Gautama B.)

This is so true and it proved to be exactly that, what helped us to succeed this weekend. Some of the divisions were large with 5 to 12, 15 competitors. The competition was hard, the standard was high and all the sweat, blood and tears were flowing this weekend.

Solis Ortus’ senior competitors had tough, hard and determined opposition and above all that demonstrated their dedication and persevered with honour. From the five competitors our seniors brought home 1 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals, which means all five seniors achieved their Gauteng colours and succeeded to participate at the KSA championships 22-23 June in the KSA Elite & SA Open Champs, Durban.

In total Solis Ortus is privileged and honoured to announce that from 17 competitors, 10 karatekas achieved their Gauteng colours and in total brought home 12 medals overall (2 gold, 5 silver and 5 bronze).

OSS-some, Solis Ortus is a proud karate club! Well deserved to you all.

Remember: “The difference between winning and losing is most often not quitting.” (Walt Disney)

Solis Ortus hosted the Gauteng North JKA trials, 4 November 2017, at the Magister Hall dojo. Six affiliated dojos from the Pretoria region joined forces to compete in the Gauteng North JKA trials. This joint event attracted many competitors to qualify for the SA JKA Gauteng Regional Championships early next year. The SA JKA Gauteng Regional Championships also serves as trials to select the team to represent Gauteng at the SA JKA National Championships in May 2018.

The tournament was well run and organised, with more than enough qualified referees, judges and table officials to help on the day. Thank you to everyone that gave up their time for our students, for a job well done! We are always proud to host any event and show everybody else why the name Solis Ortus is part of many conversations.

Some of our students competed for the first time, especially in the Novice division. Solis Ortus showed formidable strength and accomplishment during this tournament. It is amazing to see how each one of them stood proud and showed their character in their specific event.

Solis Ortus karatekas did exceptionally well at the trials and therefor qualified to go through to the SA JKA Gauteng Regional Championships early next year. Everyone who competed showed great sportsmanship, competitiveness and achievement. With every competition you will build more strength, stamina and confidence to improve your performance. Remember karate is about building character. Success breeds confidence and confidence breeds success. It is clear that the confidence level in our students are growing and that makes a huge difference in their performance and personal life.

To those who have medalled, well done, and to those who did not, remember sometimes you win and sometimes you learn. Always take the experience as a learning curve to improve yourself and never ever give up. “The difference between winning and losing is most often not quitting.” – Walt Disney

Sensei Eugene is extremely proud to all our Solis Ortus competitors. You have showed great character and spirit. Remember “It’s not about being better than the other. It’s about being better than you were yesterday.”

Good luck to everyone preparing for the next tournament but most of all preparing for grading.

Wild West Challenge

Introduction

This prestigious event was the first to be held in Ireland at the University of Limerick (UL). JKA World Karate Championships attracted about 2,500 competitors and supporters from 58 countries participating in the 14th Funakoshi Gichin Cup August 18 and continued until Sunday, August 20.

There are impressive numbers involved in the JKA World Karate Championships 2017 with 800 fighting mats being used to make up eight tatamis and 2 400 bottles of water.

The JKA World Karate Championships 2017 took place outside Japan just once every six years and has previously been held in Australia and Thailand. This year history was made as it is the first time since 1994 that Japan gave the winning title to Chillie.

JKA Ireland was founded in the early 1970s by Corkman Sensei Noel Casey, 7th Dan JKA; who has played a significant role in bringing karate in Ireland to a world-class standard. Its history is said to date back over 2000 years and involve development in India, China, Korea amongst other countries.

Karate, as we know it today, was introduced to Japan from Okinawa in the early part of the 20th century when Gichin Funakoshi presented a demonstration in Tokyo.

Solis Ortus makes history

What an honour to be selected as part of the South African JKA International Team as karatekas and Coach. PW Pentz and Elmien Viljoen had the privilege to be part of the 14th Funakoshi Gichin Cup World Championships 2017 in Ireland. Sensei Eugene was selected as a South African coach to accompany and coach the team to Ireland.

Sensei Eugene is not only a sensei or karateka but also a role model, motivator, holds strong karate values and is a great achiever on South African and International soil. He believes in the harder you work in your karate the more satisfying is your results.

After 2 months of hard training and long hours of body and mind preparation, the day came to face their opponents. Still convincing your body to let your mind do the work, nerves kicked in and your heart is about to climb out of your throat.

After a long flight they arrived at Shannon International Airport, 25 km alongside the N18, in the spectacular green clean city Limerick, a city of many contrasts, first City of Culture, which managed to successfully blend the modern with the historic. The weather was from shiny the one minute to dripping wet the other.

They stayed in the luxurious hostels at the University of Limerick.

PW Pentz started his karate journey when he was 7 years old. His heart beats karate. He eats, drinks and sleeps karate. He always dreamed to achieve high ranks in his beloved sport. Karate for PW is a lifestyle although he loves to compete and to improve himself. He is a dedicated hard working 12 year old, who is determined to improve and achieve. He practice 2-3 hours five days a week.

His preparation for Ireland consisted of continuous hard work and concentration on faster movements with his feet and strong fast punches. He also trained by improving his kumite techniques such as keep distance, attacking and defending techniques and more effective kicking.

With no expectations, a lot of nerves and guts he competed against 34 competitors in his division. He had four fights. In the first round he fought against Japan, second round Russia and third round Canada. After three successful wins he faced Japan again. He admitted that it was hard, mentally and physically, but prevailed and made history for Solis Ortus.

It is the first time in the history of Solis Ortus karate club that someone achieved a medal in the junior division. Sensei Eugene bursting with pride and is humbled with the fact that to receive a place in an International Championship is a huge achievement. Solis Ortus salutes you PW and stand proud next to you lifting you up to celebrate your victory and achievement. PW got bronze and ranked number 3 in the world in his division!

His parents, Pieter and Iris, are extremely proud of him. In the interview they humble themselves with PW’s achievement and stated they did not expect a medal, being there is already a big achievement.

PW, happy and proud and cannot thank his parents enough, especially his father for all his support in his karate journey. He also give thanks to Sensei Eugene his role model and motivator. PW is already planning to start preparing himself for Tokyo 2020. His goal is to achieve the ultimate.

He made a lot of new friends and will cherish his experiences in Limerick.

Solis Ortus formidableachiever

Elmien Viljoen, 1st Dan, 16 year old karateka started her karate journey when she was 7 years old. She is a formidable athlete with high goals and achievements. She won many JKA kumite divisions in her age group over the years. Her biggest dream is to represent her country at Shotocup.

With determination, hard work, focus and a goal like bulls eye, she prepared herself as her dream aroused in front of her. She can touch it for the first time, as number 1 SA JKA Kumite Champ 2017. At last, now she can pack her bags, go to Ireland and represent her country. What an honour.

Elmien worked hard on her fitness, kicks and distance in-between school demands and studies as a grade 11 pupil. Her division was massive with 62 competitors all over the world. It was quite intimidating to see them all standing ready with no tatami in sight. Most of the girls was already 18 and 19 years old, knowing each other as the years passed by, and always meeting as competitors on common ground.

Competition was tough, extremely fast and of a very high standard. Unfortunately Elmien fell out against Argentina in the first round. She was sad and disappointed but luckily Elmien has her eye still on the prize and above the honour of being there for the first time, she will push herself to do better and prepare herself for greatness to be back in Tokyo 2020.

Her desire for greatness is the key to her motivation, but her determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of her goal – a commitment to excellence – will enable Elmien to attain the success she seeks. One of Elmien’s characteristics is, once she dealt with disappointments, motivation kicks in and she can focus on her purpose for the next goal.

Her first goal is to focus on Matric next year and then she will put her body and soul into her preparation for 2020. She wants to show the world she deserves to be there and therefor will give her everything to be victorious. “True victory is victory over oneself.” Morihei Ueshiba

Her mother, Sonja, also a 1st Dan karateka, mentioned that karate is a learning curve for life. As a sport it also has its ups and downs as in true life scenarios. Karate teach you to overcome disappointments, to perform under stress and arise victoriously in every situation.

Solis Ortus stand in awe of Elmien’s strong character and is proud in her achievement as ambassador for Solis Ortus and her country. Well done, you deserve to be part of our SA JKA National Team and looking forward to see you in 2020. It never gets easier. YOU get better!

Solis Ortus believes in you – high achievers, like you, spot rich opportunities swiftly, make big decisions quickly and move into action immediately. Follow these principles and you can make your dreams come true – Robert H Schuller

Solis Ortus is exceedingly proud of PW and Elmien that touched the feeling of their dreams. The great future belongs to those who have strong vision and determination. It doesn’t matter where you are now, starting well and finishing strong is all that matters.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. “Teddy Rosevelt

Participants all over the world will arrive at Limerick for the 14th Funakoshi Gichin Cup in Ireland.
The Championships will be held at the University of Limerick from the 14th to the 20th of August 2017.

We are proud to announce that Elmien Viljoen and PW Pentz will be competing in this Championship in Ireland. Solis Ortus is also proud that Sensei Eugene will accompany them as South African coach.

Solis Ortus stand so proud to your great achievements and wishes you both all the best. Remember your greatest asset is not only your physical ability, but your mental ability. (Bruce Jenner) You have achieved; now be prepared!

Be proud and always be an ambassador for both your Dojo and South Africa.

Maputo, capital of Mozambique, is a vibrant laid-back capital, an incongruous mix of palm-lined streets, an elegant promenade with ritzy villas, and once-grand colonial buildings—which often sit side-by-side with shanties and concrete.

The historic city welcomed the participants from 5 African countries (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique) to take part in Zone 5, at the University of Maputo, 23 and 24 June 2017. As for the participants the weather also had its competitiveness between hot, cold and windy, which resulted in moderate to warm weather at the end.

There were 500 entrees, 100 divisions and for PW’s division, 7 participants. Competition was tough, hard, intense and demanding, but PW prevailed and came back victoriously with the GOLD medal to his country and dojo.

PW is a very dedicated and passionate karate kid. Karate is his life. He trains hard to build endurance and stamina in his kumite 90 minutes every day, 5 days a week. Early in his karate journey he learned that “learning is a gift, even when pain is the teacher.” He mastered these two concepts and built determination to achieve and walk out victoriously in his fights. Yes, every fight is a trial to improve yourself even when you get hurt or do not win. Winning is a word, not always number one is a win. He realised that and worked harder and harder.

PW, Solis Ortus and your karate comrades are very proud of you. You are an inspiration for many, work hard stay humble, be a leader and remember “because you have set high standards for yourself, you have to go out and live up to it every day.” Make your journey an event and memory for your life.

“The ultimate victory in competition is derived from the inner satisfaction of knowing that you have done your best and that you have gotten the most out of what you had to give.” (Howard Cosell)

This weekend all the Provinces in South Africa came together to compete against each other to achieve the highest goal they can in their karate journey. More than 3000 competitors entered to compete for their SA JKA colours. Solis Ortus stand proud to have entered 41 competitors between the ages 6 and 52.

On Friday the event was opened with the Special needs division. What a privilege to be part of such incredible talent. They worked so hard to come and show off their karate. After many tears of joy, all three of Solis Ortus karatekas achieved their SA JKA colours. Congratulations to Pieter, Julia and James. We are extremely proud of you and wish you only success.

The karatekas had to face huge divisions but our karate kids excelled through every division. Many received medals and Solis Ortus wants to congratulate everyone. May today’s success be the beginning of tomorrow’s achievements. To those who did not receive any medals, remember you are already winners as it took guts and hard work to get there. The fact that you participated makes you a winner, the fact that you put your feet onto the tatami’s (mats) makes you a winner. A medal cannot determine a winner from a looser it makes you strong in character and gives you a vision to strive higher. Keep on practising next year is on our doorsteps.

“We may encounter many defeats but we must NOT be defeated.”Maya Angelou

On Saturday the Elite section came from all over the country to compete. Wow, what a day. Many karatekas prepared with a purpose not only to receive their SA JKA colours, but to be part of the 14th Gichin Funakoshi Cup in Ireland in August 2017. The quote “No guts, no glory” really came to impress itself amongst these competitors.

With mammoth divisions and hour after hour of hardships the victory came as a final demand. Solis Ortus wants to congratulate Sandra Erasmus, Elmien Viljoen and PW Pentz for qualifying for this prestigious event. Sensei Eugene is incredibly proud of you and wish you all the best. The sky is the limit.

Apart from our International stars Solis Ortus did well in the Elite group. To all the karatekas who received their SA JKA colours, well done. Solis Ortus cannot stress enough what a proud dojo we are of everyone’s achievement.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
Teddy Roosevelt